Buying Services

To be able to put your property onto the market for sale here in Scotland, you will require a Home Report. This is something that Stewart Watt & Co can arrange as part of the pre-marketing process. The Home Report is split into three sections: 1. Single Survey & Valuation This section, based on a visual inspection by a chartered surveyor and details information about the property, its condition, its accessibility and any repairs that a prospective purchaser may need to carry out. It also gives a valuation (an expert opinion on how much the property is worth). 2. Energy Report This section of the Home Report gives information on the property's energy efficiency in the form of an Energy Performance Certificate. It details energy use and roughly how much it'll cost on average for heating, lighting and hot water. It also rates the house's environmental impact in terms of carbon dioxide emissions and gives contact details for advice on how to make the property more energy efficient and save fuel costs. 3. Property Questionnaire This section of the Home Report is a questionnaire covering different categories. This is designed to give a purchaser more information about the property. These categories include: the home's council tax band any issues that may have affected the home in the past, like fire or storm damage or asbestos any alterations or extensions that have been made to the home details of any specialist works or guarantees details of any notices that might affect the home

Stewart Watt & Co currently advertise properties on our website, ESPC, Primelocation, Zoopla and via social media. Each website offers access to different buyer demographics in order to provide a wider reach on advertising online.

It can be daunting thinking about what to do and when if you're considering selling your home here in Scotland. Thankfully, we are on hand every step of the way with regular feedback and high standards of customer service. We also provide you with a copy of 'How to Sell a Home' booklet which is also available free, online here:

Stewart Watt & Co Solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland, and must obtain clients' ID to comply with the anti-money laundering regulations. We ask for proof of ID such as a valid passport and/or driver's license, proof of address such as a council tax bill or a utility bill dated within the past 3 months. We also ask for your National Insurance number. These need to be provided by each owner of the property.

We will ask you about any alterations to the property, such as double glazing, extensions, new heating systems when you are looking to put your property onto the market. Please have a look for any paperwork relating to this, including any guarantees for specialised work. We'll also ask you where your title deeds are located and your mortgage account number if applicable.

As an ESPC Charter Member, we want to make sure we provide you with a full and transparent estimate of fees, from conveyancing to estate agency, bank fees, Home Report survey and, of course, an expectation of what to achieve as a sale price. That's why we offer you a free pre-sale valuation, it helps us gather the information relevant to your property and send you a detailed estimate tailored to your sale. The pre-sale valuation is free and without obligation. We will then send you a detailed quotation which will help you plan your move.

The ESPC Charter is a quality standard that Stewart Watt & Co have signed up to and details the level of service that you can expect as we provide a top-quality service to our clients. Encompassing all aspects of the property transaction, the Charter details what service levels you can expect: from clear, transparent pricing, to regular feedback and consistent points of contacts. Additionally, it helps firms prioritise training and development to ensure that we can stay in a market leading position, offering high quality, customer focused service. The ESPC Charter promotes a higher standard of service levels for both buyers and sellers. Chartered firms have voluntarily signed up to these higher standards which encompasses all aspects of your property journey, from estate agency through to the legal process and highlights exactly what you should expect at all points of the journey. At all stages of the property transaction, home sellers can benefit from using a Chartered firm like Stewart Watt & Co. In the initial property marketing stages, you can expect to be updated quickly and efficiently on what is happening and what you need to provide and an individual will be assigned to guide you through the sale. Full transparency on the valuation, fees, and services that the solicitor estate agent firm will provide will be detailed as standard. The extensive ESPC past sales archive is uniquely available to solicitor estate agents who are part of our network, and this detailed wealth of information is vital in providing accurate valuations by our firms to their clients. Chartered firms have committed to ensuring this is utilised fully in your sale and that the archive is fully up-to-date. The conveyancing team (who handle the legal process of transferring a property from one person to another) will be introduced and you’ll be asked about documents that will make your sale progress more easily, such as building warrants, alteration documents etc. Enquiries will be handled promptly, and feedback will be provided regularly to keep you up to date with how your sale is progressing. In addition to the high level of service you can expect with your property marketing, when it comes to the legal transfer of the property, the sale conveyancing will be completed to a high standard. You’ll be provided with full transparency on fees from the outset and have clear timelines provided with regards to accepting offers and transferring title deeds.

You need to appoint a Scottish Solicitor firm when you purchase a property in Scotland. Your solicitor will be able to give you a good understanding of the current market conditions, areas in which you could consider buying and they will eventually negotiate the purchase of a property on your behalf, to get the best possible deal for you. This includes placing Notes of Interest and Offers on your behalf.

Once you find a home you think you might buy, you need to speak to your solicitor. We'll help you decide on how much to offer on the property based on market conditions and the latest sales in the area, as well as information contained in the Home Report. Also, we'll want to present your Offer in the best light and will require Proof of Identity (Passport or Driver's Licence), Proof of Address (Council Tax Bill or Utility Bill dated within the last 3 months) along with proof and source of funds (Mortgage Agreement in Principle, Bank Statements etc).

There are a few of different ways to list properties for sale. Homes marketed at a 'fixed price' and 'offers around' generally mean the seller is expecting closer to the price stated rather than much over that. If the property is marketed as 'offers over', the seller will be hoping to achieve a price higher than the one stated. If you have viewed an 'offers over' property that you like, you will most likely wish to contact us to place a Note of Interest for you with the seller's solicitor, which formally registers your interest in the property. If one or more Notes of Interest are received, a closing date may be set. All offers must be submitted by this day. It's essentially a blind bid situation: you won't know what other people are bidding, or even if they're making an offer at all. A seller doesn't have to set a closing date, however, and can choose to simply accept and offer which is submitted after the property comes to market.

Land and Buildings Transactions Tax (LBTT) was introduced in April 2015 to replace UK Stamp Duty Land Tax here in Scotland. The amount payable will depend on the purchase price. We will work the amount out for you in our estimate based on your prospective purchase price when you request a purchase quotation from ourselves. You can also use the online calculator at https://revenue.scot/calculate-tax/calculate-property-transactions to calculate this for you.

LBTT first time buyer relief is now available to all first-time buyers who buy a home which they intend to occupy as their main residence. The relief is therefore only available for residential property transactions that meet the criteria. By increasing the initial LBTT threshold for first time buyers to £175k, the Scottish Government predict the majority of first-time buyer transactions will attract no tax. First time purchases above £175k will also benefit from the first-time buyers relief on the portion below the £175k threshold. Stewart Watt & Co will include First Time Buyer relief in the estimate of fees and outlays if applicable. First-time buyer definition A first-time buyer is defined as an individual who does not currently own, or has owned, a property in Scotland the rest of the UK, or anywhere else in the World. Joint purchasers Where a property is being purchased jointly, both parties will need to meet the relevant criteria to qualify for LBTT first time buyer relief. Inherited property If an individual inherits property, or has property gifted to them, this will be taken into consideration when assessing previous ownership status. Trustees and Executors If someone owns as property as a Trustee or Executor, they are not considered to be an existing owner for the purpose of LBTT first time buyer relief. Occupation as a main residence First time buyers must be able to demonstrate that the property being purchased will be their main residence. Although it is not necessary to occupy the property immediately, the buyer must indicate a clear intention to do so in the future. This allows for renovation, structural or remedial work to be completed after purchase and before occupation. LBTT first time buyer relief is not available when a property is purchased for a purpose other than as a main residence, for example as a buy to let investment.

The additional dwelling supplement (ADS) was introduced in April 2016 and applies to all transactions involving the purchase of an additional residential dwelling over £40,000. Additional dwelling types include buy to let investments and second homes. We will include ADS as part of our estimate of fees and outlays to you. Replacing a Main Residence Someone who is replacing their main residence can claim a refund of ADS if their old home is sold within 18 months of buying their new one. In this situation a refund claim should be submitted to the Tax Authority under section 107 of the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014. Ownership of an existing property The additional dwelling supplement will normally be charged if the purchaser of a new property already owns a dwelling, and the dwelling is not replacing their existing main residence. Dwellings outside Scotland are also to be counted when assessing previous ownership status. Ownership of an existing dwelling is not to be counted if the value of the ownership interest is less than £40,000. Joint purchases The additional dwelling supplement will be applied to a transaction if any person in a Joint purchase already owns a property. Joint purchasers include Spouses, civil partners, cohabitants and children of these groups . Purchases of 6 or more dwellings Where six or more separate dwellings are the subject of a single transaction, those dwellings are treated as non-residential. In these cases the transaction is normally exempt from the additional dwelling supplement.